War is often mistakenly understand as a strictly masculine arena . But woman have always played essential function in battle , even if they ’ve been historically relegated to the sidelines — and the Vietnam War was no exception . From nurses to first ladies to domineering political revolutionaries , women involved in the Vietnam War never let strangle gender convention keep them from fighting for their beliefs , whether they were serving behind the scenes or correctly alongside their manly counterparts in conflict .
Jane Fonda
Actress and activist Jane Fonda ’s controversial two - week tour of North Vietnam in 1972 — in particular , a pic of her peer into the CRO of a North Vietnamese anti - aircraft gun — immediately made her the target of considerable criticism and curse from the American populace ( enraged American media even artlessly dubbed her “ Hanoi Jane ” ) . The Academy Award - winning actress made numerous appearance on Hanoi Radio , condemning the American military ’s actions in Vietnam and calling for an immediate ceasefire .
In 2013 , it was revealed that the communications of both Fonda and her then - husband Tom Hayden were intercepted and monitored by the National Security Agency as part of a controversial , legally dubious domesticated espionage military operation called Project MINARET that was intend to keep tabs on Americans deemed “ domestic threat . ” The task also monitored the communications of other prominent anti - war figures likeMartin Luther King Jr. ,Muhammad Ali , and diarist Tom Wicker , among more than a thousand others [ PDF ] .
Fonda ’s stumble later come to be a watershed mo in the anti - war movement . Though she has stated she has no regrets about her hitch of a war - harry North Vietnam , she has expressed remorse for the photo of her on the anti - aircraft gun , stating she ’d allow herself to be manipulated through a lapse in sound judgement . Animosity from Vietnam old-timer toward Fonda has persisted even decennary after the photograph was publicized ; it even lead to the actress being harass andspat atduring late appearance despite unnumerable public apologies .
Trịnh Thị Ngọ, a.k.a. “Hanoi Hannah”
Trinh Thi Ngọ , well bed asHanoi Hannah , was a Vietnamese radio personality who mould at the res publica - lead wireless place Radio Hanoi . Ngọ ’s program — in which she tell English scripts written by the North Vietnamese Defense Ministry ’s propaganda section — encouraged American troops to defect and excoriate the United States ’ go along escalation of the conflict .
Ngọ was born to a wealthy family in Hanoi . She learned English through private lesson provided by her menage after she expressed a desire to learn so she could watch over her favorite photographic film , 1939’sGone With The Wind , without subtitles . She volunteered with the Voice of Vietnam , a state - controlled radio spreader , in 1955 , and went on to ensure a position reading the station ’s English speech communication program .
While Ngọ ’s efficaciousness in animate American Gi to desert was trifling , her drawn-out English language broadcast made her something of a celebrity among American troops ; they tuned in for rare occasion of amusement and charade . Radio Hanoi ’s broadcasts of interview with American anti - war anatomy like Jane Fonda , however , sparked scandalisation among the soldiers . After the conclusion of the war , Ngọ relocated to Ho Chi Minh City with her married man , where she remain until her death in September 2016 at the age of 85 .
Nguyễn Thị Bình, a.k.a. Madame Bình
Nguyễn Thị Bình , better known in Western media asMadame Bình , is a Vietnamese diplomatist and revolutionary who served as the Vietcong ’s main representative during the 1973 Paris Peace Accords . Bình was the sole female signer of the Paris Accords ( an agreement that ended the American engagement in the War in Vietnam ) . A manful Vietcong representative was ab initio stand for to replace her following preliminary auditory sense in Paris , but Binh ’s popularity , eloquence in French , and increasing international realisation grant her to keep her position for the residual of dialogue .
Bình was Vietnam ’s first woman appoint to a cabinet minister office . She attend to as Minister of Education for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam following the Fall of Saigon and subsequent communistic reunion of Vietnam . After after serving as Chair for the Social Republic of Vietnam ’s National Assembly , Bình was elect Vice President of Vietnam in 1992 and again in 1997 .
Frances FitzGerald
Frances FitzGerald , author of the Pulitzer Prize - win bookFire in the Lake : The Vietnamese and Americans in Vietnam(1972 ) , is an American journalist known for her nuanced reportage of the Vietnam War during the mid-1960s and early-1970s . Whereas many of FitzGerald ’s male twin focused their coverage strictly on the state of war ’s fight , she instead detailed the warfare ’s seismic effect on South Vietnamese policy and the daylight - to - mean solar day liveliness of the Vietnamese .
Originally published in five parts as a slice ofThe New Yorker ’s new - established “ Annals of War ” section , Fire in the Lakewas an exigent vital success and became the first major book authored by an American on the War in Vietnam . FitzGerald ’s body of work contend that the United States government had a poor understanding of Vietnamese history and had no business tampering in the struggle . FitzGerald returned to South Vietnam in 1974 , penning clause about liveliness there following the war for publications likeThe New York TimesandThe New Yorker .
Trần Lệ Xuân, a.k.a. Madame Nhu
comport to a wealthy , politically link Vietnamese menage , Trần Lệ Xuân , better known in English asMadame Nhu , attend to as the de facto First Lady of South Vietnam during her unmarried sidekick - in - law Ngô Đình Diệm ’s troubled term of office as president from 1955 until his assassination in 1963 . Madame Nhu wielded an huge amount of political influence . She was prepare in a magisterial Gallic Gymnasium in Hanoi and was a whole indoctrinate francophile and devout Catholic convert by the meter she begin her raise to business leader in the 1950s .
Susan Schnall
Despite her profoundly heldanti - warfare feeling , Virginia native Susan Schnall joined the U.S. Navy as a nurse in the late 1960s , assured by recruiter that her duty as a nursemaid allow for her to help all hoi polloi , both enemy and friend alike . She was assigned to the Oakland Naval Hospital in Oakland , California . Schnall quickly became disenchanted with the armed services and join the burgeoning antiwar bm sweeping the United States . After demonstration bill she ’d hang around the hospital base were quickly torn down , Schnall and her hubby , Vietnam War veteran James Rondo , loaded a small plane with leaflet containing anti war sentiment and dropped them from the sky over various San Francisco Bay Area military facilities .
Shortly after the flight , Schnall attended an anti - war marchland in uniform — explicitly break fresh issued regulations banish members of the Navy from participating in “ partisan political ” demonstrations while in uniform . She was court - martialed for her activeness just day afterward and faced a possible sentence of up to four long time in a military prison . Schnall was convicted and sentenced to a year of hard labour and the forfeiture of all pay she ’d received from the Navy . After do her condemnation through the continuation of her obligation as a nurse at the Oakland Naval Hospital , Schnall was given a bad conduct waiver and turned her aid to continued , lifelong anti - war activism .
Võ Thị Thắng
Võ Thị Thắng — the issue of the iconic “ Smile of Victory ” pic — was a communist subverter who was arrest after a failed character assassination attempt on a suspected spy in the South Vietnamese capital metropolis Saigon . Despite being sentenced to 20 years of hard labor , Thắngquipped , “ So you really think your governing will last another 20 years ? ” and smiled as a Japanese lensman captured the unforgettable image . That photograph afterward made her something of a fame ; her defiant grin became emblematic of the use of women in the Vietnam War .
After serving just a fraction of her sentence , Thắng was released in March 1974 as part of the Paris Peace Accords sign two months earlier . She continued her communistic political activity and was appointed standing vice president of the Vietnam Women ’s Union , a political organization geared toward advocate for the rights and pursuit of Vietnamese fair sex and girl . Alongside her work for the Women ’s Union , Thắng served as a representative for the Long An Province in the fourth , fifth , and 6th Vietnamese National Assemblies . The Vietnamese stateswoman go to sleep from political sympathies in 2007 and passed away at the age of 68 in late August 2014 .
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